Kim Krisberg wrote last week about some alarming differences in the new funding announcement for the Title X program, which supports reproductive health services for millions of lower-income women and men across the country. She highlighted health advocates’ concerns about several aspects of the new announcement (which allows providers to apply for Title X funds), including its failure to reference CDC’s “Providing Quality Family Planning Services” recommendations, its prioritization of abstinence-only sex education activities, the lack of language reaffirming adolescents’ right to confidential services, and an apparent attempt to steer funding away from providers that offer comprehensive family planning.

A day later, Haberkorn and Sarah Ferris reported that House Republicans are now demanding that the Labor-HHS appropriations bill eliminate Title X funding altogether and prohibit federal payments to Planned Parenthood (Democrats say they were stunned at Republicans reneging on their agreement; I suspect they weren’t really all that surprised, given House Republicans’ appalling history on Title X). “The dispute has stalled negotiations on other health issues, such as how much to spend on the opioid epidemic and prompted discussions about buying negotiators more time, with short-term government funding set to expire on March 23 and many of Congress’ other spending panels nearly finished with their bills,” Haberkorn and Ferris note.

Title X improves public health, saves the federal government money, and reduces the number of abortions — all things Republicans theoretically support. Are they more interested in preventing women from controlling their reproductive futures than they are in advancing public health and fiscal responsibility?